Hi,
I'm currently looking to renovate the bathroom for a unit I just bought. The building is around 40 years old, so I understand that I have to be careful with the plumbing, and that there's limitations to what can be done.
How much can I expect it to cost for a full renovation? So far I've had quotes ranging from 10k to 19k but that is too big of a range for me to be accurate. The bathroom is around 2.5m by 3m and consists of a shower, bathtub, toilet and basin.
Cheers!
Anything that old will require new everything including the floor and walls. maybe the only thing left will be the ceiling plaster. You will have to gut right back to the studs.
We have a similar sized bathroom and were quoted $10k-$13k from a few places… but thats was always just the labour. Everything else is on top: tiles, taps, shower screen etc etc. So we factored in about $20k. You may find the large variance in quotes is de[pendant on including tiles/fittings or not?
Bathrooms are labour intensive (compared to kitchens) due to the strict waterproofing standards these days.
On the cheap side you can do a bit of a touch up repair for $5k maybe but it will often come back to bite in 5 years…. but thats not a "full renovation as per your question.".
Depends on what you want. Are tiles going all the way to ceiling? What brand of fixtures. Do you want mitre cuts of tiling job? Also once you pull up the floor you may find it's in a condition that requires work before laying new subfloor
We just renovated our 4 x 2m bathroom, needed new everything, waterproofing the floors and walls, tiles, shower, bath, vanity, toilet etc. Cost us about $22k all up.
10 to 19k is right get an itemised list and tick off what is and what is not covered then you'll get it.
I renovate houses for a living, I have never spent more than 4k on a bathroom, I do all the labor though. I don't want to get into legalities and all that here, I'm legal. a 40 year old room wont be level plumb and probably not square. You should pay to go back to the studs and level and plumb the room especially if you don't want tiles lipping. Also at 40 years old, you will most likely have asbestos, when you get to it (or the builder) they will stop and I almost guarantee that if you haven't already discussed and agreed on the cost and who will remove it you will be lumped with an extra cost and a delay. Discuss this when getting the quotes.
Good work by tradies is very hard to replicate and takes years of experience, in particular the tiling. Good work looks simple when complete but it is hard heavy and dusty and can be very frustrating if you have made mistakes along the way.
Put simply good labor is worth a lot.
putting the ever present debate of regs to the side for a moment, If you are on a ground level I have to say this, waterproofing, I do it, I know how to do it perfectly. But really I have never found it in any bathroom I have renovated ever and I have only ever found a spot a couple of times from water damage, saying that, old bathrooms have shower bases if you are doing floor grates well then waterproofing even on the ground floor will save you in the future I think simply because of the seeping damage sitting water has the potential to do.
If you are confident to project manage yourself you will save a fortune.
Hire professionals by the hour through gumtree or similar. Ensure you inspect their licence and go with your gut feeling if they seem dodgy. Do not pay yellow pages retail rates. A good handyman should be able to do most of the tasks, maybe $40 an hour.
Buy the materials yourself. Avoid Italian marble unless you live in a $2mil unit. Buy best bang for buck materials = this is a skill in itself.
Tiling and painting is easy to learn, so save more by doing it yourself. 7m2 self project managed maybe $5k-$6k depending how fancy you want to go.
For an added headache go through council, I never did.
10-15k
Did a 2.5 x 2.5 bathroom recently however did almost everything myself - Keep in mind, I had a bit of experience in this previously and I also used professional mates on tasks that I thought were out of my capacity (electrical, plumbing, sand cement bed). If you are planning to project manage this yourself and just hire individual trades for everything, I would say don't waste your time or money as you will not get competitive rates and you have the hassle of dealing with everyone along with the time it will take you. Just find somebody lump sum make sure everything is included and just pay them. If you are planning to physically do actual work yourself, tiling, waterproofing etc. then have a crack as you will save money, however it is not easy and if you have a lack of understanding on processes you will likely give up. Even for somebody who has done it once before it is not easy at all. Some of my costs off the top of my head - approximately.
Approx total: $5,500
My past full renovation cost me around 20k and to be honest with you its worth it. The ones I hired offers personalized design to your liking which was AWESOME, don't settle for less, always think about quality ;). If you're interested on the company I hired you can visit them on this website and ask for a quote. https://www.bathroom-vanity.com.au/
Spent$19k for full reno last year.
Size 2x2.5m
Full stripped the wall and roof also the floor because there was leak penetrated the waterproof ALREADY mind due it was 30 years old house.
Took about 3weeks to complete the whole project. Fun time having to take bath on the portable shower given its the only bathroom we have in the house.
At the end I'm happy with the result
That kind of range is not unexpected, because it depends on the builder you hire, the scope of the work, and other factors. E.g. one builder might think you need to demolish the shower wall and put a sealant undercoat, then redo the tiling, another might think just a spot or two of repair will do. Maybe and maybe not. Try to be more specific about the work you want done and ask the builders for written quotes. BTW, that $19,000 estimate is probably not a coincidence because there is a Fair Trading contract for $5,000 to $20,000 and another for over $20,000. Also remember to check with your body corporate for any requirements.